`Sardar Modi` is greatest leader of country: Badal

Gandhinagar: Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal on Monday called his Gujarat counterpart and chairman of BJP`s election campaign committee Narendra Modi as "the greatest leader" of the country.

In the beginning of his address at the inaugural session of Vibrant Gujarat Global Agriculture Summit 2013 here, Badal said, "I thank the greatest leader of the country and Chief Minister of Gujarat Narendra Modi for organising a first of this kind summit to address the problems of country`s farmers."

"Gujarat is the state which gave birth to Mahatma Gandhi, which gave us Sardar Patel and now it has given `Sardar` Modi to our nation," said the Shiromani Akali Dal leader.

Badal, the only ally of BJP so far to come out in support of Modi as Prime Ministerial candidate, also announced that a similar summit would be held in Punjab next February.
In his half-an-hour long speech, Badal attacked the central government for ignoring farmers.

"For past many years farmers and agriculture have become the most neglected in our country," he said.

"No Chief Minister is being consulted before taking decisions on farmers` issues... Every support price for farmers` production is decided by the Centre."

"When this country needed grain, government gave the slogan `Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan`. But when the need was over they neglected farmers. Don`t forget that you will need farmers in future too. What will you do then?" he said.